Tag Archives: plot

Yup, there’s a copy of my novel draft in that bag, for revising on the train. At Rock Center with the boys. c Elissa Field

I am traveling this week, which has me on sensory overload.Think: 22-hour drive, zipline obstacle course through the treetops, 5th Avenue and climbing rocks in Central Park with my boys…

As much as we talk about avoiding distractions in order to write, traveling has its own kinds of distractions. If you’re facing those during summer’s tempting travel months, check out Motivation to Write: Keep Writing While on Vacation. That said, I’m off to work by the pool with the boys.

Before I go, this week’s Friday Links include 4 great articles for taking writing deeper… followed by Chuck Wendig’s As always, feel free to let me know which links resonated with you and what you’d like more of, or share your own links in the comments.

This post by literary agent Susan Hawk of The Bent Agency offers 5 suggestions for the qualities she finds lead to successful openings and first lines. Thanks to Melanie Martilla for sharing this (and thanks for visiting here frequently, Melanie!).

In Donald Maass’s Writing the Breakout Novel, he observes that many novel drafts fail because the writer had a great idea or premise, but it wasn’t enough to sustain power through the arc of the narrative. This article by Janice Hardy distinguishes between the deepening role of idea, premise and plot in a way that may help a writer better establish a well-fledged concept.

Trust Chuck Palahniuk as he says, “In the next six seconds, you’ll hate me…” This post on a tumblr collecting Palahniuk quotes shares some brass-knuckled advice: “From this point forward—at least for the next half year—you may not use “thought” verbs. These include: Thinks, Knows, Understands, Realizes, Believes, Wants, Remembers, Imagines, Desires, and a hundred others you love to use.” With these gone, Palahniuk urges writers to un-pack the real meaning intended by those shortcuts. (Thanks to Amanda Byrne, who shared this at Wordsmith Studios.)

Worried you won’t get that first novel finished? Or, got it finished and sold and now worry you won’t have any publishing worries left to keep you awake at night? No problem. Novelist Chuck Wendig has you covered with this post at Terrible Minds.

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